Amazing art, sublime weather and a Proteam victory: the Vans US Open of Surfing presented by Swatch was a total success and we were thrilled to kick off our new partnership in style. The biggest free action-sports festival took place July 28-August 5 in Huntington Beach, California and welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors who were stoked to see the best of the best surfers, skaters and BMX riders compete for titles. This major event was right up our alley with creative workshops and art activities as well.
We were excited to cheer on all of our Swatch Surf and Skate Proteam stars: surfers Coco Ho, Courtney Conlogue, Tia Blanco and Jhonny Guerrero, and our newest member, skateboarder Nora Vasconcellos. Even more exciting was Courtney’s impressive victory – she struck gold at the WSL tour stop with a killer performance, even after starting the season with a broken foot. At our booths on the south side of Huntington Beach Pier, our Proteam athletes hosted signing sessions and hung out with guests.
In the spirit of the true surf lifestyle, art and creation were centerstage between the sports competitions. At our creative space, selected artists were invited to paint Maxi Swatches that were given away at raffles over the course of the event. Michael Siung, Sofia Enriquez, The Los Angeles River and Benjamn Marasco transformed the canvas – an oversized Swatch model – into illustrative, bold works of art. Before the skating began, Swatch artists Michael and Benjamn painted the inside of the bowl to add a bit of pep to the concrete.
In celebration of the event and our new partnership, we launched PERFECT RIDE, a limited edition watch with a design inspired by the beautiful Huntington Beach waves. Couldn’t make it to Southern California? Watch the videos and check out the pictures on Instagram and you’ll almost feel like you were there. Maybe we’ll see you next year!
